


...But I Must Scream

by Shoulder_Devil



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Body Horror, Gen, Goretober 2018, Leitner hunting, Mentions of burning alive, The Flesh - Freeform, no mouth/eyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 06:23:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16402988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shoulder_Devil/pseuds/Shoulder_Devil
Summary: Gerard clicked off his torch before turning the knob in his hand. Going forward the risk of being spotted outweighed the benefit of having a light source. He’d caught the scent of a particularly nasty book and was not keen to gain first hand knowledge of what it could do.Gerard goes Leitner hunting.





	...But I Must Scream

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, that got darker than I intended.
> 
> Goretober prompt 24: No mouth/eyes

Gerard clicked off his torch before turning the knob in his hand. Going forward the risk of being spotted outweighed the benefit of having a light source. He’d caught the scent of a particularly nasty book and was not keen to gain first hand knowledge of what it could do.

He pushed the door slowly open, listening for any sounds of movement before peering into the restaurant proper. Tables topped with upturned chairs were arranged in clusters around the dining room. The light of a passing car sent shadows into unnerving motion along the patterned wallpaper. Gerard kept close to the wall as he made his way around the corner into the kitchen.

Past the metal counters, burners, and brushed steel equipment was the door to a walk-in cooler. If he were going to find anything, it would be in there. He searched the rest of the kitchen first, just in case but came up empty handed. He took a deep breath and put his hand on the metal handle. Now or never.

Cold air washed over him as the door swung wide. Without the insulation of the door blocking the sound, muffled screams filled the air around him. Writhing shapes were suspended from the ceiling. In the low light they looked like they might be human but they didn’t _sound_ like it.

He double checked to make sure the door couldn’t lock behind him before allowing it to close. The animalistic cries and grunts increased in pitch as their struggling became more frantic. Gerard pushed the noises aside and counted to ten. He hoped that was long enough for his Eyes to adjust.

No good, something in this place was interfering with his Sight. He was going to have to risk using the torch. Gerard kept one hand on the door, ready to wrench it open and bolt in case whatever was in here with him decided to attack.

Even though the light was pointed at the floor when he switched it on, the reaction was immediate. A muffled screech to the right of him drew his attention. Limbs flailed through the torch beam as he raised it to the source of the noise. A naked man hung from a meat hook pierced through his shoulder. His arms were bound behind him, his eyes bulged with pain and terror, but his mouth…

His mouth was gone.

That didn’t stop him from trying to scream. His jaw worked helplessly behind unbroken flesh as his throat strained to produce desperate whines. As Gerard walked closer he saw the man wasn’t bound with rope, his hands had been fused together, pinning his arms at the wrists.

Behind him, Gerard could see another body, this one limp on it’s hook. Dull brown hair framed a face devoid of both mouth and nose. Her left arm was missing as well as flesh from her stomach.

There were at least twenty people in that room, not counting the handful of noseless corpses, all missing some part of themselves. Some even had their eyes smoothed over as well. Gerard could see frantic movement under the skin as they tried to track the light of his torch.

Not a one of them though, even the dead, had a mouth.

Gerard pressed back against the insulated door and fumbled for the handle. Those people who still had eyes pleaded for his help. As it turns out, you don’t need a mouth to scream.

“I- I- I can’t. I-” He flung open the door and ran, dropping his torch as he went. He didn’t stop until he was outside.

“I’m so sorry,” Gerard whispered to the closed door behind him. “I can’t help you.”

\--

Gerard hoped the book that gave the power to warp flesh in that manner was still inside the restaurant when the fire destroyed the building.  

**Author's Note:**

> Oops, I tripped and fell into some body horror.


End file.
